Drug inhalator



July 15, 1952 p, ARNOW 2,603,215

DRUG INHALATOR Filed Feb. 12, 1949 INVENTOR Pia /P ,4/PN W,

ATTORNEY fiaien'ted July 15, 1 952 UNITED STAT DRUG INHALATOR' ration ofMaine Application February 12, 1949, Serial No. 76,090-

4 Claims. 1 'This invention relates to an apparatus, and its method ofuse, for applying a powdered medicament to various passages of the body,and more particularly to a method whereby a finely pow dered drug, suchas penicillin, may be inhaled through either the nose or the mouth andcaused to pass into passages of the nose, throat, mouth and lungs.

The therapeutic advantages of the drug penicillin are well known.Certain other antibiotics are being developed for somewhat similarpurposes. Among other uses of such drugs is the prevention oralleviation of local infections in the air passages of the head, throatand lungs; and by absorption through these membranes into the bloodstream, causing thereby a general therapeutic effect.

In the past, many devices have been manufactured for the purposes ofdistributing dusts or powdered medicaments in various locations on, in,or about the body.

It is an object of this invention to provide an extremely simple devicewhich is sturdy, dependable, reliable, fool-proof and which willmaintain its characteristics fora long period so that if a considerabletime should elapse between the original manufacture of the item and itsutilization, the therapeutic efficacy of the drug will remaincomparatively undiminished. Other advantages of the device will appearto those skilled in the-art from the accompanying description, drawings,and appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view showing the inhalator properlyassembled in a moisture-proof tube.

Figure 2 is a sectional view showing the details of construction of mydevice.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view of the inhalator itself showing thedetails of the bafiling in the ends of the tube to cause turbulence andto prevent agglomerated particles from being inhaled.

Figure 4 is an end view of a filter tip showing the use of asubstantially continuous foil or strip.

Figure 51s a view of a filter tip showing wire mesh screens.

A device constructed in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of myinvention comprises a vial II, which may be made of glass, plastic ormetal or other material. It is particularly convenient if made of glassor a transparent plastic so that the contents may be more readilyobserved. In the end of the vial is a closure l2, such as a cork orrubber stopper to give a secure and substantially moisture-proof seal.If cork be used it is usually desirable that it be dipped in paraflin orother wax, which leaves a thin moisture-proof layer l3 depositedthereon. The inhalator itself comprisesa tube [4, preferably of atransparent solid material such as glass, or a transparent plastic. 'Ifof glass the ends may be fire-polished. This tube may conveniently be ofcircular crosssection although any cross-section is satisfactory. Spacedfrom each end of the tube is a diaphragm [5, which may well be of paper,cellophane or metallic foil or other thin, preferably moistureproof,readily puncturable material. These diaphragms may be positioned by anadhesive, retaining rings, or otherwise held in the tube. The membranesmay be part of the filter tip assembly It, later described, and held inplace thereby. Between the diaphragms is placed the medicament ll. Themedicament may be powdered penicillin,'powdered penicillin together withsuitable carriers, or other powdered material which it is desired toapply to the interior coating of the body air passages.

In each end of the tube is placed a powder dis persing baffle or filtertip assembly I6 which may consist of a strip of filter paper, accordionpleated and folded back upon itself in such fashion that it may beplaced in the end of the tube and retained in position by its naturaltendency to spring outwardly. The strip is preferably so folded that itis parallel to the axis of the inhalator at all points, but so thatthere are a minimum of flat portions of the paper. The filter mayconsist of a long strip of paper repeatedly folded at random so that itis loosely disarrayed and so that the elements of the paperperpendicular to its long edges are substantially parallel. Preferablythere is a slight gap between the diaphragms l5, and the filter tipassembly [6. Other materials may be used for these baflles, such asordinary paper, if formed so as not to be too tightly bunched; or ametallic foil. Other filter tips may be used, such as a plurality oflayers of fine wire or screen, I9, as shown in Figure 5. It ispreferable but not necessary that such filter tips be self-retainingbecause of their natural springy characteristics. A retainer may be usedif1 necessary, but renders the inhalator more comp ex.

The inhalator cartridge may be retained in place in its protective vialby a layer of cotton 20, on which is placed an innocuous desiccant 2|.Such materials as silica gel, aluminum oxide and other inert innocuousdesiccants are particularly useful in this type of a device because ifaccidentally consumed they will not be harmful to the NT OFFICE materialremains dry and therapeutically effective for a long time.

In use, a needle, such as shown at 18, or other fine sharp instrument isused to pierce the diaphragms thereby admitting air to the medicament inthe middle chamber. The vial maybe then placed in the mouth or nostril,and by inhalation, air drawn through the filter tips and the medicamentchamber. In passage through the medicament chamber a certain amount ofthe powder is entrained in the air and inhaled into the body. By tappingthe vial, the medicament maybe kept from caking, and caused to becompletely. inhaled after several inhalations. The filter tip baiiles,because of their construction, prevent the agglomeration of the powderand cause it to break up into fine sized particles such as are mostreadily carried into the air passages of the body. The space between thediaphragm and the filter assembly assists in this dispersion.

. If metallic foils or screens are'used, there is less tendency for thepowder to remain adherent on such screens than if coarse paper is used.Normally paper is more readily handled and does not entrain sufllcientof the medicament to cause appreciable loss. v

End caps may be used over the vial itself or merely one filter tip maybe used with a puncturable membrane at the other end, but forconvenience it is desirable that the drug inhalator be non-directional.

Ashaped tip may be used if desired, to permit ease of insertion into thenostrils.

Under some-conditions, the diaphragms may be punctured prior to the timeof use but there is less danger of the medicament escaping if thediaphragm is punctured just before administration of the-medicament tothe patient.

It will be seen that the present inventionprovides a device of extremelylow cost whereby a powder may be stored for inhalation up until the timeof use and may be administered to a patient efliciently and simply. Ofthe complexity of prior art inhalators, none have been available to theAmerican public which were as simple. as efficient and effective as theherein described device.

While the invention has been illustrated in a preferred form, it is tobe appreciated that the full scope of this invention is as set forth inthe appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A drug inhalator comprising a tube open at each end, puncturablediaphragms inset from each end thereof iclosing ofi a center sectionthereof, a powdered medicament in said center section, and at least onepowder dispersing baflle between one of said diaphragms and an adjacentopen end of said tube.

2. A drug inhalator as set forth in claim 1 in which the baiilecomprises a plurality of layers of a mesh screen.

3. A drug inhalator .as set forth in claim 1 in which the heme comprisesa strip of material folded in an accordion pleated fashion so that foldsthereof ,are in loose disarray so that elements of the strip areessentially parallel to the tube.

4. A drug inhaiator comprising a glass tube open at eachend,.moisture-resistant puncturable diaphragms inset fronreach end andclosing of! acenter section of saidtube, apowderedmedicament-insaidcenter section, and a baffle consisting of a strip ofmaterial folded in an accordionpleated fashion so that the folds thereofare in loose disarray but essentially parallel to the walls of the tube,arranged adjacent each of said diaphragms and between each of saiddiaphragms and-the respective ends of the tube.

PETER, ARNOVV.

REFERENCES .CITED The following references are'oi ;recordin the fil ofth s ten UNITED STATES PATENTS

